Mexican Texas

Mexican Texas was the Mexican-held portion of Texas south of the Nueces River that existed from the Texas Revolution in 1836 until the Mexican-American War in 1848. The region was all that was left of the former province of Tejas following the Republic of Texas' independence from Mexico, and it had a small population of 3,730 at the end of 1837, with over a half of its population being Lipan Apache Native Americans and a minority being Mexican settlers. In 1845, the region was occupied by the US Army at the start of the Mexican-American War, with President James K. Polk ordering American troops to occupy the disputed area after the Mexican government refused to sell the region to the United States. Today, the region still has a large Mexican population, and its Mexican influences are still strong.